Furniture-caster.



c. H. MGCAULEY.

FUBNITURE'GA8TEB.

(Application filed Mar. 10, 1900.|

Patented Apr. 2, I901.

(No Model.)

-: IIIIIIII/III/IIIIIII/M/IIIIIIIIIIIO CHARLES H. MCGAULEY, OFBALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

FU RNITU RE-CASTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 670,937, dated April 2,1901.

Application filed March 10, 1900. Serial No. 8,204. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that LOHARLns I-LMOCAULEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Furniture-Casters, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in furniture casters, andparticularly to that class in which a tubular socket is stationarilysecured to the article and adapted to receive a pintle or stem whichextends upwardly from a suitable roller.

The invention consists in providing such a socket with means forengaging the pintle and preventing it from falling out when the articleto which the caster is applied is lifted from the floor and in soarranging such retaining devices that they will be outside of thetubular portion of the socket and also be protected from injury when theroller and pintle are removed and the socket bears directly on thefloor.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a casterhaving its parts constructed and arranged in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is asectional view of a portion of the caster, showing the position of thepintle-retaining devices when the pintle is partially inserted in thesocket. Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the socket member of the caster. Fig.5 is a sectional view through the lower portion of the socket, thepintle being removed.

Like letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of thefigures of the drawings, referring to which- A designates the tubular orbody portion or the socket of my improved furniture-caster, whichtubular portion may be formed in any preferred and suitable mannerthatis,it may be either cast in one or two pieces or sections or rolled upfrom a sheet-metal blank, as is common in the manufacture of sucharticles. Preferably it is provided with twolongitudinally-extendingribs CL, which act to hold it from rotationwithin the socket formed in the article to which the caster is to beapplied.

About the lower end of the tubular portion A is secured a base-piece orannular flange B. This is made of the cross-sectional form shownparticularlyin Figs. 2 and 3, so as to provide a central recess orchamber 1), which is connected' at its highest point with theabovedescribed portion A of the socket. The outer portion of this flangeor base-piece is bent upwardly, providing a groove or depression 1),into which more or less of the lower end of the portion of the furnitureto which the device is applied extends. The upper edge of thisupwardly-extending flange may be smooth, as shown in the drawings, orserrated, as preferred. By reference to Figs. 2 and 3 it will be seenthat the base-piece or flange B is thus provided with a dependingring-like portion 11 which surrounds the aforesaid chamber or recess 1)and the lower substantially horizontal face of which is some distancebelow the lower end of the tubular portion A. This ring-like portion bis the only part of the basepiece 13 that contacts with the door whenthe roller D is detached from the socket member of the caster.

The roller D is mounted in the ordinary manner between two arms 6,secured to the lower end of the pintle E. The latter is preferably madecylindrical throughout its length and of a diameter to fit within thetubular portion A of the socket. This pintle maybe secured to the arms ein any suitable manner. In the embodiment of the invention illustratedin the accompanying drawings it is provided near its lower end with anannular boss e and is of reduced size from such boss to its lower end.This reduced end is passed through an aperture in the cross-barconnecting the upper ends of the arm 6 and secured thereto by beingupset. About the said reduced portion of the pintle is fitted a washerF, which is of a diameter greater than that of the boss 6 and when thepintle is secured as above described to the arms e is firmly clampedbetween said boss and cross-bar. This washer F is concaved somewhat onits upper face, as shown, so that its edge or periphery lies somewhatabove its center or point of attachment to the pintle. By thisconstruction and arrangementit will be seen that the pintle is providedwith an annular flange which when the parts of the caster are allassembled lies within the chamber or recess 1) in the base 13 of thesocket,- and within the said recess 1) I arrange means for engaging saidflange on the pintle and normally preventing its movement outwardly orlongitudinally away from the socket. These pintle-engaging meansin theembodiment of the invention selected for illustration here consist of aplate G and any suitable number of depending yielding or flexible lipsor projections g. The plate G is provided with a central aperture and issecured against the upper wall of the recess 6 by any suitable means, sothat said aperture will be in alinement with the tubular portion A. Thelips g, which may, as shown, be formed integral with the plate G, arebent so as to extend first inwardly and then outwardly at their freeends. Said lips are so situated that the radial distance from the axisof the pintle to the innermost portion of anyone of said lips isslightly less than the radius of the flange F, and when the pintle hasbeen inserted in the socket sufficiently far to bring the flange F abovesaid inwardly-extending bends in the lips g it will be supported in suchposition.

It will be understood that while the springlike lips are of sufficientstrength to sustain the weight of the pintle and roller they do notprevent the withdrawal of the pintle from the socket when desired, andwhen the pintle is thus removed the lower ends of the said lips lie in aplane above that of the lower face of the ring-like portion b of thebasepiece B, so that the weight of the furniture is not applied to saidlips and they are surrounded and protected from damage.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

In a furniture-caster, the combination of a socket having an annularbase-piece at its lower end, said base-piece havinga recess or chamberin its lower face, yielding or flexible pintle-engaging fingersconnected to said socket and lying wholly within said recess or chamber,and a pintle fitting said socket, said pintle having an annular flange Fwhich is engaged and detachably held by said fingers, substantially'asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. H. MOGAULEY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. lVIILLIKIN, JAMEs F. JOHNSON.

